Developer Workstation Setup Script Debian Edition

This guide provides instructions for setting up a developer workstation using Debian 12 "bookworm". The setup scripts automate the installation of necessary software and configurations.

While the software and setup choices are mainly aimed towards developers, it is also suitable for general use.

Installation

Before running the setup script, follow these steps to install Debian 12 and configure the desktop environment:

Install a fresh copy of Debian 12. Tested with the 12.5 ISO: https://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/current/amd64/bt-dvd/debian-12.5.0-amd64-DVD-1.iso.torrent

If you use the default guided partitioner in the Debian installer, you will get a swap partition of only 1 GB. To get an uncapped swap partition size, in the grub menu before the Debian installer runs, follow these steps:
Press "e" to edit the default installation option.
In the line that says linux /install.amd/vmlinuz vga=788 --- quiet, add the following separated by a space after vmlinuz:
partman-auto/cap-ram=n
Press Ctrl-x or F10 to continue.

Leave the default of Gnome as the desktop environment. During the installation, do not provide any details for the root account, your user account will then have administrative rights.

Open the terminal and run the following command to install Ansible, Git, and Flatpak:
```
sudo apt install ansible git flatpak
```

Clone the repository and navigate to it:

git clone https://github.com/David-Else/developer-workstation-setup-script-debian
cd developer-workstation-setup-script-debian

Customize the software selection by modifying the packages.yml and install-binaries-playbook.yml files according to your preferences.
Run the main installation playbooks:

Note: When prompted for the BECOME password in Ansible, enter your user password. Your account must have administrative privileges.
```
ansible-playbook ./install-playbook.yml -K
```
```
ansible-playbook ./install-binaries-playbook.yml -K
```

Log out and in, then run the Gnome and Helix setup:

ansible-playbook ./gnome-setup-playbook.yml -K

ansible-playbook ./compile-helix-playbook.yml -K

To enable the preview feature in the nnn file manager, run it once with the -a flag to create the FIFO file.

Install keyd:

cd keyd
make && sudo make install
sudo systemctl enable keyd && sudo systemctl start keyd

Install showmethekey:

cd extras
unzip showmethekey-1.12.0-compiled.zip
cd showmethekey-1.12.0-compiled
sudo install-show-me-the-key.sh

Install Firefox extensions:

firefox https://addons.mozilla.org/en-GB/firefox/addon/ublock-origin/ \
    https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/surfingkeys_ff/ \
    https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/copy-selection-as-markdown/ \
    https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/keepassxc-browser/ &

Install Kitty (binary locations are already added to the $PATH in .bashrc and .zshrc)

curl -L https://sw.kovidgoyal.net/kitty/installer.sh | sh /dev/stdin
cp ~/.local/kitty.app/share/applications/kitty.desktop ~/.local/share/applications/
cp ~/.local/kitty.app/share/applications/kitty-open.desktop ~/.local/share/applications/
sed -i "s|Icon=kitty|Icon=/home/$USER/.local/kitty.app/share/icons/hicolor/256x256/apps/kitty.png|g" ~/.local/share/applications/kitty*.desktop
sed -i "s|Exec=kitty|Exec=/home/$USER/.local/kitty.app/bin/kitty|g" ~/.local/share/applications/kitty*.desktop

Compile tt from source:

sudo apt install golang

git clone https://github.com/lemnos/tt
cd tt
make && sudo make install

Optional Tweaks

Depending on your software selection, hardware, and personal preferences, you may want to make the following changes:

Audio

You can confirm the allowed sample rate settings were changed by the playbook with:

systemctl --user restart pipewire.service
pw-metadata -n settings

Watch the sample rates change per application running pw-top.

More info can be found at: docs.pipewire.org configuration-file-pipewireconf

General

To perform general tweaks, follow these steps:

Setup default applications:

touch ~/.config/mimeapps.list
cp ~/.config/mimeapps.list ~/.config/mimeapps.list.backup
cat > ~/.config/mimeapps.list << EOF
[Default Applications]
video/x-matroska=mpv.desktop
video/mp4=mpv.desktop
audio/x-opus+ogg=mpv.desktop
text/vnd.trolltech.linguist=helix.desktop
application/toml=helix.desktop
text/plain=helix.desktop
text/x-python=helix.desktop
application/json=helix.desktop
application/javascript=helix.desktop
audio/flac=mpv.desktop
application/x-shellscript=helix.desktop
audio/prs.sid=sidplayfp.desktop
text/csv=libreoffice-calc.desktop
video/mpeg=mpv.desktop

[Added Associations]
video/x-matroska=mpv.desktop;
video/mp4=mpv.desktop;
audio/x-opus+ogg=mpv.desktop;
text/vnd.trolltech.linguist=helix.desktop;
application/toml=helix.desktop;
text/plain=helix.desktop;
text/x-python=helix.desktop;
application/json=helix.desktop;
application/javascript=helix.desktop;
audio/flac=mpv.desktop;
application/x-shellscript=helix.desktop;
audio/prs.sid=sidplayfp.desktop;
text/csv=libreoffice-calc.desktop;
video/mpeg=mpv.desktop;
EOF
update-desktop-database ~/.local/share/applications/

Setup Vale by changing the global .vale.ini file in your $HOME directory. Update the StylesPath to point to an empty directory where you want to store your styles. For example:
```
StylesPath = ~/Documents/styles
```
After making the change, run vale sync. You can create a new config file using the Config Generator.

Configure Git by setting your email and name. Run the following commands:

git config --global user.email "you@example.com"
git config --global user.name "Your Name"

If you want to enable GPG signing for commits, use the following commands:

git config --global user.signingkey key
git config --global commit.gpgsign true

Install gh extension install yusukebe/gh-markdown-preview
sudo apt install v4l2loopback-dkms v4l2loopback-utils for virtual video devices

FAQ

If you would like to use Code for things that Helix still struggles with (like debugging), and still use all the modal keyboard shortcuts, I suggest installing silverquark.dancehelix or asvetliakov.vscode-neovim and using these settings:

settings.json

{
  // font size
  "editor.fontSize": 15,
  "markdown.preview.fontSize": 15,
  "terminal.integrated.fontSize": 15,
  // asvetliakov.vscode-neovim
  "editor.scrollBeyondLastLine": false,
  "vscode-neovim.neovimExecutablePaths.linux": "/usr/local/bin/nvim", // for el9 clones, or "/usr/bin/nvim" for Fedora
  "workbench.list.automaticKeyboardNavigation": false,
  // various
  "window.titleBarStyle": "custom", // adjust the appearance of the window title bar for linux
  "editor.minimap.enabled": false, // controls whether the minimap is shown
  "workbench.activityBar.visible": false, // controls the visibility of the activity bar in the workbench
  "window.menuBarVisibility": "hidden", // control the visibility of the menu bar
  "files.restoreUndoStack": false, // don't restore the undo stack when a file is reopened
  "editor.dragAndDrop": false, // controls whether the editor should allow moving selections via drag and drop
  "telemetry.enableTelemetry": false, // disable diagnostic data collection
}

You might also like to install ms-vscode.live-server for live debugging in Code or the browser.

If you get no bootable device found after installing Debian, try https://itsfoss.com/no-bootable-device-found-ubuntu/

Bonus: If you are using gnome-boxes don't forget to install spice-vdagent AND restart the virtual machine to get copy and paste working.